Twisted Wonderland | Mickey's Print

38. Afternoon with Diasomnia

On the Friday after his sister's first day at school, Yuu stopped by the library after class. The desire to return home to their old world had become more serious, now that Yukiko was there with him as well. But no matter how much he searched through the books, he couldn't find anything that looked like useful information...

Crowley still hadn't found anything about it either, but it wasn't clear whether the reason for it was because he was actually too busy or he had forgotten about it.

After looking through three different books, he decided to give up and call it quits for the day. He still didn't know what would happen to Yukiko if she returned to Chiba with unstable magic anyway, so he could take all the time in the world to research a way to get back home.

What he could not afford was to leave the preparation for the final exams until the last moment, but after being unable to focus and memorize the theory, he decided to open the thick History book that had caught his attention moments before.

"Oh, good afternoon, prefect. It's been a while, isn't it?"

Yuu hadn't noticed that someone had approached him from behind, he jumped and covered his mouth to avoid ruining the silence of the library.

"Oh, dear. My apologies, I didn't mean to scare you this time." The Diasomnia student said in a low voice before chuckling softly.

"Oh, Lilia," Yuu whispered after calming down. "I didn't hear you coming."

"Sorry, I'm still in the habit of being discreet sometimes," Lilia replied before looking at the books on the table. "Is it a bad time? We haven't had a chance to talk since your sister's entrance ceremony. I came to say hello, but I see that you are studying diligently."

"Ah, don't worry about it. I was just procrastinating," Yuu assured. "It's true, it's been a while. Would you like to sit down?"

Lilia nodded and sat down across from him. He glanced at the book the young human was reading. "I read a bit of this one," he said before chuckling slightly. "I find it curious that you describe focusing on a book as advanced as this one as 'procrastinating', information like this will help you for the second and third school years. Do you enjoy History that much?"

"Yes, ever since I was a kid," Yuu replied sheepishly. "I've always been very good at it and I love learning more about topics like these."

"I see we have something in common," Lilia said before realizing something. "It's rare to see you alone. Where is your friend Grim? He's not in trouble, right?"

"No no. He's helping Yukiko train with her magic in Ramshackle dorm. The ghosts are with them, so it will be fine... Or so I hope."

"He, he. How kind of him. Speaking of your sister, I was about to ask about her. How is she doing?" Lilia asked with interest before looking away with some sympathy. "I heard that Vargas doesn't allow her to use magic in his classes, is that true?"

Yuu sighed. "She's fine, but she still has some... complications. That's why she wants to train so much, to at least control her magic enough to use it in class."

Lilia got an idea of the kind of complications he was referring to. "I have never seen such a condition before, but I would advise her to take it easy. Magic of that caliber will take a long time to master and stress is not good for combating blot production," he said as he inevitably thought of that fateful moment in the toilet.

"She knows that, but it's still hard for her," Yuu sighed. "She feels that she's far behind the other first years and it frustrates her. That's why she wants to get on the road as soon as possible."

After thinking about it for a second, Lilia gave a slight smile. "It's normal for her to get frustrated, she seems like a very determined young woman. I find her courageous desire to improve admirable, but she must not force herself. The same thing happened with Silver and Sebek, they worked hard to become worthy guards for Malleus," Lilia revealed, arousing Yuu's curiosity. "They took a while, but look at them now: strong, healthy, determined guys. And seeing how much support Yuki has, I'm sure she'll make it one day. If I have not yet told her all this and you have the chance, I ask you to tell her on my behalf, and I wish her much encouragement. You too, of course, family also has to make an effort to help them."